burdens. Magnanimous Tiny Tim, a young boy
who uses a crutch and has an unspecified but serious illness in Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella
“A Christmas Carol,” exemplifies PWD as an
embodiment of pluckiness and as a catalyst for
spiritual transformation (i.e., Scrooge’s redemption). Remarks such as “You’re an inspiration” or
“Everything happens for a reason” foist religious
inculcation or related hard-won wisdom onto
PWD rather than treating them as individuals. 21

Such well-intentioned sentiments consider PWD
as chosen and assign the disability a higher purpose. But these judgments make the disability
the defining characteristic of PWD, privilege the
psychology of the able-bodied, and undercut
PWD’s assessment of their disability. Objectifi-cation and stigmatization result.

The medical model, dating from the mid-

1800s, construes disability as a physical ailment
or mental condition that demarcates a person’s
capacity. 22 Thus, PWD equal patients who may
benefit from and are dependent upon healthcare
to restore them as closely as possible to traditional normalcy. This schema assumes that marginalization is inevitable unless PWD can be rehabilitated to operate more like able-bodied people,
and it tends to separate humanity into functional
versus nonfunctional parts. Comments like
“With your effort and attitude, I know you’ll
walk again” and “I had to use a wheelchair
when I broke my leg, so I know exactly what
you’re going through” may be well-meaning. But
they are often unrealistic and unempathic. 23

A social model that shifts the nature and location of disability developed in the early 1900s
and enhanced in the 1970s. 24 Here, disability
arises from oppressive contexts that relegate or
confine PWD. Ableist norms dictate environments when PWD are excluded from decision-making and deprived of resources. An example of the former: the terms “handi-capable”
and “differently abled” presumably originate
from language from the able-bodied world; these
euphemisms negate the reality of PWD. 25 An
example of the latter: scant screen-reading software for computer documents. An ironic example of exclusion from decision-making and
deprivation of resources simultaneously: the
lack of accessible restrooms at the signing ceremony for the Americans with Disabilities Act of

199026 (see below). Enabling accommodations
are unavailable (a clear pathway for someone in
a wheelchair to restaurant tables or store displays, or a medical appointment that builds in
time for slow or hard-to-understand speech or
for transfer between wheelchair and examining
table). And “separate but equal” norms are accepted (limiting disability access to back doors
reached by circuitous pathways). Disability,
then, translates into a minority identity.

However, in becoming a minority identity,
disability also transforms into something that
can challenge dominant cultural narratives and
integrate into the self in positive ways. The ensuing synergy gives rise to cohesive potential.

Acknowledging minority identity nurtures mutual recognition, which abets common ground,
which augments group empowerment, which
stirs a societal movement for civil rights, inclusion, and a level playing field.

Note that disability as a minority identity differs from ethnic or racial minority status. Family
of the former frequently lack the signifying connection to PWD while kin of the latter frequently share it. Whereas an ethnic minority child
may be raised by an ethnic minority parent with
years of experience navigating the dominant culture, PWD are often born into able-bodied
households without benefit of mutual characteristics or parental transmission of adaptive strategies. “The process of identity formation for persons with disabilities is complicated by a social
marginalization so profound that it extends into
the shelter of the family. … People with disabilities are usually distinct from their families not
only physically, mentally or psychologically, but
also politically. They typically grow up in families and in a dominant culture where being disabled is viewed as unfortunate.” 27 This type of
solitary circumstance for PWD echoes that of
lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals, and cultural transmission may have to occur
through alternative routes other than family.

Reforms

The social model links to legislation and advocacy, especially in the U.S. The Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 prohibited discrimination on the
basis of disability by federal agencies or federal-ly-funded public institutions. 28 However, necessary regulations were not established and implementation stalled for several years. But public
protests raised visibility of the issues, fostered
emergent leadership in the disability community,
and ultimately achieved the goal of the legislation. 29 For instance, a national uprising occurred
on April 5, 1977. In Washington, D.C., a sit-in
at the Health, Education and Welfare office lasted only 24 hours because protestors were denied
food and supplies. More successfully, a well-organized occupation of the HEW site in San
Francisco endured for almost a month and received extensive media coverage and local support from various allies (including Safeway supermarket, Mayor George Moscone, and the
Black Panthers). Such activism compelled President Jimmy Carter’s new Secretary of HEW, Joseph Califano, to establish those regulations in
consultation with the protestors.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
took things further. It draws from the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 as well as the Rehabilitation
Act and mandates protection of PWD by prohibiting discrimination due to “a physical or
mental impairment that substantially limits one
or more major life activities.” The ADA covers
employment, public services, public accommodations and services operated by private entities,
and telecommunications. 30

Accessibility barriers that impeded PWD
from pursuing work and leisure partly triggered
this landmark legislation. For example, in a

1985 Harris Poll on PWD, about two-thirds ofrespondents were unemployed despite wantingto work and more than two-thirds had not at-tended movies or eaten at restaurants in the pre-vious year because of these obstacles. 31 The im-portance of the ADA, therefore, ranges from theeveryday experiences of someone who no longerworries “that I’ll be kicked out of a movietheater because I can’t get out of my wheelchairand into a theater seat” 32 to the legal basis thatallowed Casey Martin, born with Klippel-Trenaunay-Webber syndrome, a rare circulatorydisorder making his right leg extremely weak, touse a golf cart to compete in PGA tourna-ments. 33 The ADA further symbolizes ideals,U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts de-clared in July 1990 when the bill was passed bythe Senate (shortly before being signed into lawby President George H. W. Bush): “People withdisabilities are here today to remind us thatequal justice under the law is not a privilege buta fundamental birthright in America.” 34

Building on such imperatives, numerous organizations work on behalf of PWD. The American
Association of People with Disabilities, created in
1995, “is the nation’s largest disability rights organization. We promote equal opportunity, economic
power, independent living, and political participation for people with disabilities. Our members,
including people with disabilities and our family,
friends, and supporters, represent a powerful force
for change,” proclaims its mission statement. 35

The enterprise concentrates on full access for
PWD to education, employment, healthcare,
housing, religious institutions, technology, and
transportation, plus rallies voting and veterans.

Also, the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research and the WHO proposed
integrative templates for disability a number of
years ago. The NIDRR’s Long-Range Plan 1999-200336
addresses “the impact of environmental factors
on the phenomenon of disability” and investigates the “phenomenon of disability” across
multiple fields. “The disability paradigm that
undergirds NIDRR’s research strategy for the future maintains that disability is a product of an
interaction between the characteristics of the individual (e.g., conditions or impairments, functional status, or personal and social qualities)
and the characteristics of the natural, built, cultural, and social environments. The construct of
disability is located on a continuum from en-ablement to disablement,” the plan articulates.

“Personal as well as environmental characteris-tics may be enabling or disabling, and the rela-tive degree fluctuates, depending on condition,time, and setting. Disability is a contextual vari-able, dynamic over time and circumstance.”Thus, “The new paradigm of disability is inte-grative and holistic, and focuses on the wholeperson functioning in an environmental context.”Similarly, WHO’s International Classificationof Functioning, Disability and Health37 definitionfrom 2002 involves one or more of: impairmentsor changes or problems in body function or struc-ture (such as limb amputation, hearing loss, orlack of muscle control) that may tie to health con-ditions; activity limitations or specifics of whatPWD can do (such as walk, speak, or operate acomputer keyboard); and participation restric-tions or limitations in involvement in various are-nas (such as employment discrimination, lack ofaccessible housing, or inability to attend anevent). Akin to NIDRR, disability, then, accord-ing to WHO, derives from the interaction betweenthe person and the environment, and environ-ments can enable or disable PWD. For example, awheelchair becomes disabling without ramps or